Texas leaders say you should wear a mask, but you don’t have to, muddling public health message

As Gov. Greg Abbott reopens the economy, he has urged Texans to wear masks in public to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

But during his televised news conferences, neither the governor nor his advisers don masks. State troopers mingle in the Capitol without covering their faces. And Abbott has stopped short of requiring residents to wear masks, and prohibited local officials from penalizing people who go without them.

Those mixed messages and shifting guidance by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have fueled confusion over when to wear masks, leaving most Texas businesses and the people who visit them to make their own decisions.